Understanding Practice Change by Rural Landholders

Understanding Practice Change by Rural Landholders David Pannell ARC Federation Fellow School of Agricultural and Resource Economics University of Western Australia

Key points
Practice change depends on:
The human dimension (learning, social processes, goals, perceptions, …)
The technologies (relative advantage, trialability)
Each practice has its own unique adoption story
For policy, extension and research, it pays to anticipate adoptability

The human dimension The innovative practice 

At the individual level
It’s a learning process
Initially uncertainty is high
e.g. about a new pasture plant’s response to climate, soils, pests, weeds, inputs, grazing, etc.
Over time, learning  uncertainty falls
Subjective perceptions – it’s personal

Learning process - stages
Awareness of problem or opportunity
Non-trial evaluation
Trial evaluation
Adoption (or not)
Review and modification
Disadoption
Continuum Process is never complete

Social factors influence adoption
Related to communication, trust, credibility
Social networks
Physical proximity
Extension
Ethnic/cultural divisions
Related to benefits from adopting the practice
Off-farm income
Property size
Age/education
Reason for holding land
Goals

A variety of goals
(i) material wealth & financial security
(ii) environmental protection and enhancement
(iii) social approval and acceptance
(iv) personal integrity, ethics
(v) balance of work and lifestyle

Categories of adopters
Kernal of truth
But given too much emphasis
Don’t forget the practices
An individual could be
Early adopter for a new crop variety
Laggard for a new pasture species

The human dimension The innovative practice 

 Characteristics of practices Relative advantage Trialability

Relative advantage
Economic benefits
Profitability of practice
Farming systems effects
Adjustment cost
Riskiness
Compatibility
Complexity
Opportunity cost
Compatibility with
Beliefs/values
Family goals
Self image
Brand preference
Environmental
Values of landholder
Threats
Benefits of practice

Relative advantage driving peak adoption

‘ Convenience agriculture’
More management demands
Less time available
The challenge for ‘inconvenient’ agricultural practices
e.g. Intensive livestock systems?

 Characteristics of practices Relative advantage Trialability

Trialability
How easy is it to get over the learning hump?

Factors reduce value of trialling
Observability low or costly
Highly novel new practice
Previous experience not transferable
Long time scales
Survey of farmers in Upper Kent, 1997
Of the farmers who invested in Landcare (e.g. drainage, trees, lucerne) less than half had observed any benefit

Each practice has its own adoption story
Influential factors
Time frame
Groups of adopters and non-adopters

Factors influencing no-till adoption
Higher education
Participation in extension activities
Use of paid consultant
Years since first awareness of nearby no-till adopter
Occurrence of a very dry year
Fall in price of glyphosate
Location (region/state) & average rainfall
Effectiveness of pre-emergent herbicide (trifluralin)
Soil-moisture-conservation & seeding timeliness
NOT SIGNIFICANT: Erosion risk; soil conservation benefits; Landcare 82% of decisions correctly predicted Source: D’ Emden et al. 2006

Factors influencing IWM adoption
Higher use of extension
Higher education
Lower discount rate for future returns
Perception of higher ryegrass control (efficacy)
Perception of higher economic value of practices
Perception of longer time until new herbicide
Uncertainty of when new herbicide will be available
Higher proportion of the farm cropped
The resistance status of the farm
86% of decisions correctly predicted Source: Llewellyn et al. 2006

It pays to anticipate adoptability
Researchers
Target research effort to practices and technologies with better prospects

Extension
Sustained adoption requires relative advantage
Ignoring that threatens credibility

Policy
Anticipate adoptability when considering policy responses (what mechanism, if any)
Non-adoption is generally for good reasons, especially if it persists

Key points
Practice change depends on:
The human dimension (learning, social processes, goals, perceptions, …)
The technologies (relative advantage, trialability)
Each practice has its own unique adoption story
For policy, extension and research, it pays to anticipate adoptability

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Understanding Practice Change by Rural Landholders

by Dave Pannell on Nov 13, 2008

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Understanding Practice Change by Rural Landholders — Presentation Transcript